Nagasaki Marks 81st Anniversary of U.S. Atomic Bombing as Grassroots Resistance Challenges Japan’s Militarist Turn

On Sunday, Nagasaki solemnly commemorated the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing, with delegates from over 90 countries gathering at Peace Park to remember the horrors wrought by imperialist violence. Mayor Shiro Suzuki, echoing the voices of peace activists worldwide, condemned nuclear weapons as 'absolute evil' and warned that the doctrine of nuclear deterrence only perpetuates the cycle of militarism and endangers humanity. 'The theory of nuclear deterrence is extremely dangerous and fragile. Nuclear weapons are not a ‘necessary evil’ but an ‘absolute evil,’ and can never coexist with humanity,' Suzuki declared, urging the Japanese government to resist the pressures of militarization and uphold its three post-war non-nuclear principles. He called for Japan to attend the upcoming review conference of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to remain steadfast to its pacifist constitution, a beacon of hope in a world threatened by right-wing militarist agendas. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, however, sidestepped these urgent demands for disarmament, reiterating Japan’s so-called 'realistic and pragmatic approach' while refusing to commit to the prohibition treaty. Instead, she reaffirmed Japan’s reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella, a policy that betrays the memory of the bombings and the survivors’ pleas for peace. The ceremony included a moment of silence at 11:02 a.m., marking the exact time the U.S. dropped the plutonium bomb 'Fat Man' on August 9, 1945—a crime that killed an estimated 70,000 people by year’s end, following the devastation of Hiroshima. Today, with only about 91,000 survivors left, their voices are a stark reminder that the government’s embrace of nuclear deterrence is a betrayal of Japan’s pacifist legacy and the global movement for disarmament.